NaturallySpeaking 12.0 Premium
continues Dragon’s reign as the de-facto voice-control software for Windows. If
you’ve never used speech-recognition tools like this, it can feel like
science-fiction.
Speech-recognition isn’t for everyone but,
after training the software to learn your voice, NaturallySpeaking translates
accurately at great speed. A microphone headset in the boxed edition also
improves accuracy.
Dragon
gets you, with up to 99% accuracy
A couple of new features are offered, along
with the usual claimed improvements in speed and accuracy. New voice commands
help you navigate Outlook.com and Gmail, with Dragon icons built into their
interfaces. Geographical addresses now format correctly on the fly.
Using NaturallySpeaking is easy - once
you’ve set it up, practised using it, and trained it to recognise your tones.
Training isn’t difficult, but it is time-consuming.
A
new interactive tutorial in Dragon 12 guides you through fun exercises that
demonstrate best practices for dictating, editing and formatting so that you
can get up and running quickly.
Nuance provides plenty of tips and
documentation. You read aloud text from the screen, which varies in difficulty,
length and content.
We spent half an hour training before we
started. You can start immediately then jump back to training at any point.
At the very least, choose your regional
accent from an extensive list, and point the software toward your emails so it
can investigate your syntax and vocabulary. This author has a hybrid Yorkshire/
London accent, and a tendency to mumble as a result of an operation years ago.
But we’d say the program is more than 90 percent accurate.
Dragon
12 enhances the experience offering Full Text Control and commands for the most
frequent actions in Internet Explorer 9, Firefox 12 or higher, and Google
Chrome 16 or higher.
NaturallySpeaking remains a cinch to use.
The interface is so simple as to be all but un-noticeable. A grey toolbar sits
at the top of the screen, with an optional sidebar on the right. The toolbar
lets you know when the microphone is active and offers access to menu items.
Basic editing tools work with Word to rectify mistakes on the fly.
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Info
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Price: $224
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Contact: www.nuance.co.uk
System requirements
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1.6GHz processor
·
Windows XP/Vista/7/8
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1GB RAM
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3.2GB drive space
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16bit sound card
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DVD-ROM
Verdict
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This is the best speech-recognition dictation
software for Windows. But it demands a significant investment in time and
money.
·
Usability: 4.5/5
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Features: 4/5
·
Value: 3/5
·
Overall: 4/5
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